So, about 2 weeks ago I locked down the permits for our summer 2018 JMT hike. We will be heading northbound (NOBO) out of Horseshoe Meadows via the Cottonwood Lakes trail, and taking the better part of a month to make our way down to Yosemite (woohoo!) If anyone reading this knows me, you know I like to take pictures and shoot video… in which I talk… a lot! Considering how epic this trip is going to be, I need to make sure that I have plenty of juice to keep my gadgets going so that I can accomplish this… So in this installment of my JMT planning series, I will talk about the electronics I plan to carry, and how I plan to keep them going…

The video above does a good job going over these things, but I’ll recap them here too.

I thought long and hard about how to shoot my videos and take photo’s while on this adventure. What I settled on was simply updating my iPhone, and then just using that. I decided to go with the iPhone 8+ model simply because it had the best camera set-up of the bunch (excluding the iPhone X, which really only offered OIS on the second lens, as well as a slightly improved front facing camera… but at several hundred dollars more.) Given both, my level of experience and the advancements in phone camera’s, I felt this was the best option for me. Not only will the phone take videos and photos, but I have also downloaded several PDF’s with information for this hike, as well as a slew of apps, including Guthook’s JMT Guide and Gaia GPS, then of course a few movies, a few thousand songs, and get this… I can even call and text on the thing too! Score! To do all of this effectively, I opted for the 256GB model, which I believe will be enough room…

Besides my iPhone 8+, I will also be using my Suunto Ambit3 Peak watch (review forthcoming), both of which will require constant power while on the trail. My watch came with a charging cord that I will need to carry, and I have also picked up a USB cable with both, a micro USB and a(n attached) lightning adapter on the opposite end. The micro USB cable will connect to and charge my battery pack while the lightning adapter will charge my iPhone.

To keep these items charged, I decided to use an Anker PowerCore 13,000 mAh battery pack. This battery pack should allow me to get about 4 complete charges on my iPhone 8+ before being drained… and well that’s not quite enough. The first opportunity we will get to recharge our batteries will be about 10 days in at MTR, so I will also be carrying the Suntactics SCharger-5 solar panel. Being that we will be heading NOBO, the sun will usually be at our back (not in our eyes!), which will allow us a good opportunity to hang the solar panel from the back, or top of our pack, and collect enough rays to hopefully keep the battery pack topped off.

In order to do this, I will make use of the (dreaded) hydration port that is on my Zpacks Arc Haul backpack. I will attach the solar panel outside my pack and feed the cord through the hydration port on my pack to the battery pack, safely tucked away inside from the glaring sun or the pouring rain! (As seen in the photo below.)

These are the things that will keep my batteries going, but there are a few other electronic items worth mentioning too…

I will be relying on my trusty ZebraLight H51 to light my way to the top of Mt Whitney to catch a sunrise, and I will be saving a few puffs of air by using the Thermarest NeoAir Mini Pump to blow up our air pads. Besides this, my son will also be carrying an Anker PowerCore 10,000 mAh battery pack, along with a shorter 6″ USB to micro USB/Lightning cable, however, he will also be carrying an Anker PowerPort2 w/ Dual charging ports so that we can both top off at a power strip (on a single outlet) if need be.

And that’s about it. After much consideration, I feel like this is the best set-up for me to carry to accomplish what I want to accomplish. Of course though, only time will tell… so in time you can bet I will report back on how these items worked out for me. Until then though, thanks for stopping by!

~Stick~

Disclaimer: The items listed above were paid for by me, either at full price, or if lucky, on sale. I am not affiliated with any of the specific companies listed above, however, the Amazon links are linked to my affiliate page, and if you buy something when using those links I could get a little money from that transaction. The statements above are of my own opinion.

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About Stick

My blog is essentially a record of my hiking career. Through it, I, and others, can see how I have evolved from a heavy weight backpacker, to a smarter, more efficient, lightweight backpacker. Through the use of video, still photos, and of course writing, one can see my progression, as well as check out some of the places I hike, and not to mention some cool, lightweight gear options.
For me, my blog is a journal, but for others, I hope that it is an interactive learning tool to aid them in their own progression towards lightweight backpacking.

8 Responses to JMT Trip Planning: Electronics

Hope you have a great time! Always liked the detail you go into. Did you do the math on the solar panel versus just carrying a second or bigger USB battery? Conversely, if the panel works well then why not carry a 6000 battery instead if 13000? I’ve only seen solar panels as being useful for long trips between charging opportunities not just 10 days.

And absolutely, I did the math. My set up, even with the 13,000 mAh battery, weighs less than a 26,800 mAh battery set-up. For reference, the 26,800 battery weighs 17.2 oz on it’s own. For the fastest charge (6+ hours) it would require 2 cords, and a wall plug that will accept 2 plugs. This would put the total set-up weight to right at 22 oz. My set up (solar panel, 13,000 mAh battery and charging cord) comes in at 16.6 oz. So there is a 5.5 oz weight difference… To be fair, I would be fine to eat this difference in lieu of a larger battery pack only, however, the problem there is that the 26,800 mAh battery still wouldn’t get me but about 7 days in… I won’t be at MTR and able to recharge the battery pack until my 10th night in, so I would be a few days short. I could throw in another battery, but then the weight goes up exponentially, plus I would need access to more than one plug/outlet (or carry a bigger, heavier, more expensive multiple wall plug) and this is where it gets a little crazy to me…

As for carrying a smaller battery to use with my solar panel, I did think about that, but that was before I upgraded my iPhone. My old iPhone 6s had a smaller battery by about 1,000 mAh. My 8+ has almost a 3,000 mAh battery though! I haven’t tried it out yet, but I am thinking that I will get 3 – 4 charges at most with the 13,000 mAh battery pack… Considering this, if we have a couple of rainy, cloudy days the slightly larger battery pack will give me a little room for buffer. A smaller battery pack won’t give that to me.

Also, for the record, we will be on the trail 20 days, so quite a bit longer than just 10 days.